DALLAS, Sept. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford Inc.
(NYSE American: AINC) ("Ashford" or the "Company") today announced
that it has formed Ashford Securities LLC ("Ashford Securities") to
raise capital in order to grow its existing and future
platforms. Following registration with the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority and other regulatory authorities, Ashford
Securities will be a dedicated capital raising platform to fund
investment opportunities sponsored and asset-managed by
Ashford. Types of capital raised may include, but are not
limited to, preferred equity, convertible preferred equity,
mezzanine debt, or non-traded REIT common equity (for future
platforms).
Ashford Securities is not raising common equity for the Company
nor for its existing advised platforms of Ashford Hospitality
Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust") and Braemar Hotels
& Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BHR) ("Braemar"). Ashford
Securities expects to begin raising capital in the first half of
next year. Competitors in the space have been able to raise
hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
"Ashford Securities' goal is to provide the market with highly
differentiated alternative investment products," stated
Jay Steigerwald, Ashford Securities'
new President – Head of Distribution. "Given Ashford's broad
experience and ability to execute on many different types of
lodging strategies, we have a unique opportunity for new investors.
We believe having a dedicated fundraising platform will provide
Ashford and its advised platforms an additional source of capital
that is not dependent on the traditional publicly-traded capital
markets. We are excited to pursue a fresh source of capital
that will help us prudently grow all our platforms over the long
term for increased shareholder value."
For more than thirty years, Mr. Steigerwald's career has
specialized in alternative investment products including product
structuring, investment strategy, fundraising, budgeting, financial
reporting, and forming broker-dealer syndicates. Mr. Steigerwald is
an expert on building out high-quality fundraising platforms that
consistently provide a source of fresh capital.
Prior to joining Ashford, Mr. Steigerwald served as Executive
Director for W. P. Carey Inc. and President of Carey Financial, W.
P. Carey's managing broker-dealer. In this position, he oversaw all
broker-dealer relationships for the firm, including managing the
National Accounts and Due Diligence Departments. He was
instrumental in the overall fundraising efforts of the firm which
resulted in $7 billion in new assets.
He also influenced the strategic direction of Carey Financial
including budgeting, hiring initiatives, and product
strategy. Among his achievements, Mr. Steigerwald
consistently built out high-quality, alternative investment
syndicates.
Prior to joining W. P. Carey, he was a Vice President at CNL
Securities where he managed the Western Region National Accounts
Department. Previously, Mr. Steigerwald was the Founder and CEO of
Integrity Investment Partners, Managing Partner of the hedge fund
Prosperity Investors, and a National Account wholesaler for Related
Capital.
The Company also announced that Megan
Gavin has joined Ashford Securities to lead its national
accounts effort. Megan previously worked as a national
accounts manager at Starwood Capital LLC and Carey Financial.
The Company has engaged Robert A.
Stanger & Co., Inc., a nationally recognized investment
banking firm specializing in providing strategic planning and
investment banking services to real estate advisory and management
companies, as a consultant on this effort.
"The creation of Ashford Securities is the next logical step in
Ashford's growth strategy. For quite some time, we have
wanted to have our own capital raising platform and believe that
now is an opportune time to launch this effort to ideally
significantly increase our assets under management," said
Monty J. Bennett, Ashford's Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer. "With our strong alignment with
shareholders and our long track record in the hospitality industry,
we believe that our investment products will be attractive to a
wide range of investors. We also believe that Jay Steigerwald is the ideal executive to lead
this effort, with his long track record of success in this space,
and we look forward to providing more updates as we make progress
on this initiative."
Ashford provides global asset management, investment management
and related services to the real estate and hospitality
sectors.
Follow Chairman and CEO Monty
Bennett on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/MBennettAshford or @MBennettAshford.
Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT
investor community. The Ashford App is available for free
download at Apple's App Store and
the Google Play Store by searching "Ashford."
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release
contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are
being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. When we use the
words "will likely result," "may," "can," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"should," "expect," "believe," "intend," or similar expressions, we
intend to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are
subject to numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which
are outside Ashford's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without
limitation: changes in the business or operating prospects; adverse
litigation or regulatory developments; our success in implementing
our business plans and realizing the expected benefits of the
transactions; general volatility of the capital markets and the
market price of our common stock; changes in our business or
investment strategy; availability, terms and deployment of capital;
availability of qualified personnel; changes in our industry and
the market in which we operate, interest rates or the general
economy; and the degree and nature of our
competition.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or circumstances, changes in expectations or
otherwise.
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SOURCE Ashford Inc.